the Ethiopian woman

12:1 the Ethiopian woman. Presumably this woman was Zipporah (Exodus 2:21; 4:25), the daughter of Jethro, since there is no other indication that Moses had more than one wife. However she is also called a Midianite (Exodus 2:16), and this leaves her identity somewhat uncertain. Ethiopia is Cush in Hebrew, and the Cushites originally settled on the western shores of Arabia, before moving across the Red Sea to Ethiopia, being gradually replaced by the Midianites. Thus, the Cushites and Midianites probably experienced considerable intermingling and intermarriage in the process. Habakkuk 3:7 indicates that Cushan and Midian were sometimes considered equivalent.